O-Level Visual Text Practice 1: The Beach Clean-Up Poster
This practice uses an original poster written for this page. It follows the style of Paper 2, but it does not come from any past paper. Read the poster twice, then answer all 5 questions. Open each answer only after you have chosen your own.
The poster
A green sea turtle swims towards you, filling the middle of the poster. A torn plastic bag is wound around its front flipper.
Text version of the poster
CLEAN SEAS START WITH YOU.
Join the East Coast Beach Clean-Up.
Every year, volunteers like you lift three tonnes of rubbish off this shore. Most of it is plastic that floats out to sea. A turtle cannot tell a floating bag from a jellyfish.
In small print along the bottom: Saturday 12 September, 7.30 am to 10.30 am. Meet at Car Park C4, East Coast Park. Free to join. Gloves and tongs provided. Bring your own water bottle. Children under 12 must come with an adult. Free tee shirts for the first 200 volunteers. If it rains heavily, the clean-up moves to the following Saturday.
In the corner: Organised by the Blue Shore Volunteers, a neighbourhood group that has kept this stretch of coast clean since 2011.
The questions
What is the MAIN purpose of this poster?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (B) To persuade residents to join a volunteer beach clean-up
The correct answer is (B). The line 'Join the East Coast Beach Clean-Up' names the action wanted. The turtle fact is true, but it only serves that invitation.
Who is the main target audience, and which detail shows it?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (C) Local residents and families, because the poster says 'volunteers like you' and its small print plans for children under 12
The correct answer is (C). The words 'volunteers like you' speak to people who live nearby. The small print line 'Children under 12 must come with an adult' brings in families.
The picture shows a turtle with a torn plastic bag wound around its flipper. How does this picture work with the line 'A turtle cannot tell a floating bag from a jellyfish'?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (B) The picture shows what the words describe, so the harm to wildlife feels real and close at hand
The correct answer is (B). The words explain the danger, and the picture shows the victim. The rubbish on this shore gains a visible sufferer.
Which statement is TRUE according to the small print?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (D) Children under 12 must come with an adult
The correct answer is (D). The small print states 'Children under 12 must come with an adult' word for word. The tee shirt stops at 200, gloves are provided, and rain only moves the date.
The poster ends, 'Organised by the Blue Shore Volunteers, a neighbourhood group that has kept this stretch of coast clean since 2011.' What does this line suggest?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (C) The clean-up is an established local effort, so volunteers can expect a well-run event
The correct answer is (C). The phrase 'has kept this stretch of coast clean since 2011' shows years of steady local effort. (A) twists the line, because a kept-clean beach is not a forgotten one.
One thing to carry away
A purpose answer must name the action the text wants. The poster gives facts about turtles, but those facts serve the invitation. When you write a purpose answer, end on what the reader should do.
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